Tens of billions of animals are kept in factory farms globally, usually in harsh and inhumane conditions.
Farm Animal Welfare
We support efforts to improve the lives of animals confined on factory farms, and to end factory farming.
We support reforms to phase out the worst factory farm practices on land and sea. Through our cage-free work, we seek to end the use of cruel battery cages, used to confine about seven billion hens globally. Our broiler welfare initiative supports better welfare for the roughly 15 billion broiler chickens alive globally. And our fish welfare work supports the establishment of minimum standards for the world’s over 70 billion farmed fish.
We also fund scientific research to find new ways to help farm animals. This includes the development of innovative technologies (like in ovo sexing to end the killing of male chicks in the egg industry) and research into chronic welfare problems (like keel bone fractures in layer hens) in the hope of finding ways to reduce pain and suffering.
We want to expand the global farm animal welfare movement, especially in emerging economies where the majority of the world’s farmed animals live. We’re especially focused on expanding advocacy in East and Southeast Asia.
We also support the development of alternatives to animal products to reduce the demand for factory-farmed products. We’re especially focused on work that can reduce the taste and cost barriers to wider adoption of these products.
Key successes of our grantees and associated groups include:
- Over 3,000 companies globally have committed to stop using eggs from hens confined to cages. Thanks to this work, 165 million more hens are cage-free in Europe and the US than were a decade ago.
- Advocates in Asia have secured impressive wins for farmed animals, including commitments from global companies to expand their animal welfare policies to Asia: today, nearly 300 multinational food companies have cage-free policies that apply to Asia, while many Asian food companies have broader farm animal welfare policies.
- A European Citizens’ Initiative to “End the Cage Age” was submitted to the EU Commission in 2020, with 1.4 million citizens providing a statement of support. In response, the Commission committed to propose legislation that would prohibit the use of cages on farms and overhaul welfare protections for all of Europe’s farmed animals.
- Improved third-party certification requirements are on track to improve the lives of 4 to 10 billion fish on farms at any time.
- Over the past few years, governments and advocates have collaborated to put forward nearly $1 billion in funding for alternative proteins through grants for research and infrastructure.
The Farm Animal Welfare Grantee Experience
Read this guide to learn more about how to become a Farm Animal Welfare (FAW) grantee and what it’s like to be one.
Prospective Funders
If you are interested in making a substantial donation to farm animal welfare or alternative protein work, we would be happy to work with you to identify the best giving opportunities. We are eager to work in partnership with other funders and share information to help resources go to the best work. If interested, please email fawteam@openphilanthropy.org.
Newsletter Signup
Our farm animal welfare team writes a bimonthly newsletter highlighting key issues in the farm animal welfare movement, and how funders and advocates can contribute. You can sign up here to receive the newsletter when it comes out, and view the full archive of past newsletters here.
The following Open Philanthropy staff work on the Farm Animal Welfare program.
Farm Animal Welfare, at a glance
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